U.S. Policy
National Security and Foreign Aid
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States has tried to build a cooperative relationship with Moscow and has supplied substantial amounts of aid to encourage democracy and free-market reform in Russia. Early hopes expressed by both sides (but especially Russia) for a close partnership between the two countries have waned in the past few years for several reasons. Russians grew increasingly disillusioned by what they see as U.S. disregard for Russia’s national interests and a tendency to treat Russia as, at best, a junior partner. Many Russians feel the United States and other Western countries…
